Tag: casserole

Combination of chicken, veggies, herbs more than just fair

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date May 18, 2023

Crescent roll chicken pot pie casserole comes together quickly and features lots of great flavors from some fresh vegetables, along with plenty of herbs. It makes for a fantastic weeknight meal.

We have a friend we lovingly refer to as “the human jukebox.”

He has a ton of songs floating around in his head, and all it takes to get him to launch into one is to subtly mention a lyric.

Joey and I sometimes make a game of seeing if we can make a comment that will result in him humming, whistling or singing the song later on, after it’s invaded his subconscious. He always rolls his eyes and feigns annoyance when we bust up laughing at the outset of his tune.

My secret, though, is I tend to be a bit of a human jukebox myself, especially when I’m cooking with a particular set of herbs as I was this week: parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

Simon and Garfunkel get me every time.

Getting “Scarborough Fair” stuck in my head this week was completely my own fault, though, as I decided to add a ton of seasonings to a chicken crescent roll casserole recipe I found in order to transform it into a chicken pot pie-inspired dish.

The recipe I started with comes from the blog “The Seasoned Mom” by Blair Lonergan. You can find the original post at https://www.theseasonedmom.com/crescent-roll-chicken-casserole. I added quite a few ingredients in my version.

Crescent Roll Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

Crescent roll chicken pot pie casserole comes together quickly and features lots of great flavors from some fresh vegetables, along with plenty of herbs. It makes for a fantastic weeknight meal.

Course Main Course

Keyword carrots, celery, cream of chicken, crescent roll dough, garlic, garlic powder, garlic salt, onion powder, parsley, peas, rosemary, sage, shredded cheese, shredded chicken, thyme, yellow onion

Ingredients

Filling Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 celery stalks diced
3 medium carrots diced
1/4 yellow onion diced
6-8 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup frozen peas
1 cup chicken shredded
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon sage
garlic salt and pepper to taste
8 ounces refrigerated crescent roll dough

Sauce Ingredients

10.5 ounces cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup shredded cheese
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
garlic salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray an eight-by-eight-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set it aside.
In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots and onion, and saute until the vegetables are soft.
Add in the garlic and peas, and saute for another couple of minutes or until the garlic is fragrant.
Remove the skillet from the heat and add in the chicken, cheese, rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage, garlic salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
Roll out and separate the triangles of crescent roll dough, and place a spoonful of the chicken mixture into the center of each, loosely rolling the dough around it, and place the filled dough into the prepared baking dish. It’s OK if they are touching. (If you have extra filling after you’re done with the dough, just sprinkle it around in the pan.
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the crescent rolls are golden brown.
While they bake, add all of the sauce ingredients to a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk or stir until the cheese melts.
When the rolls are baked through, pour the sauce on the top, and place the casserole back in the oven for five to 10 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly.
Serve immediately.

This is really saucy. You could easily get away with doubling the filling, getting an extra can of crescent rolls and using a nine-by-13-inch dish instead—while using the same amount of sauce.

I didn’t mind the extra creamy sauce along with the vegetables and buttery dough, though, so it’s all about what you like.

Of course, the addition of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme complimented the chicken and veggies nicely, too. That combo is a true love of mine.

This piece first appeared in print on May 18, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Tags 30-minute dinner, carrots, casserole, celery, cream of chicken, crescent roll dough, easy dinner, garlic, garlic powder, garlic salt, onion powder, parsley, peas, rosemary, sage, shredded cheese, shredded chicken, thyme, yellow onion

Main Dish

Casserole might be better on taste then eating with your ‘rice’

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date October 20, 2022

Taco sour cream rice casserole is extremely kid-friendly, with no spiciness, but it also is a nice way to enjoy taco flavors over dinner in an easy, quick casserole form.

There’s a popular saying that people eat with their eyes.

Food that looks good tends to taste better, and food that looks like slop tends to, well, taste like slop.

I was worried that the saying was going to come back to bite me with this week’s recipe when I decided to add a Sazon seasoning packet into the rice, sour cream, cottage cheese mixture in the casserole I tried. I looked at the bland, white concoction and decided it needed color—and flavor.

What I didn’t plan on was what would happen when the bright orange seasoning mixed in with the colorless, creamy assortment in my pot. It turned movie-theater-popcorn orange.

Unfortunately, that was the moment Joey decided to pop his head into the kitchen to see how my experiment was turning out.

His face told me I may have been eating an entire casserole by myself if the entire thing ended up looking like some sort of traffic-cone-inspired amalgamation. Luckily, it ended up looking much better once the casserole was done.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Plain Chicken.” You can find the original at https://www.plainchicken.com/taco-sour-cream-rice-bake/. I added onion, garlic and Sazon seasoning to my version.

Taco Sour Cream Rice Casserole

Taco sour cream rice casserole is extremely kid-friendly, with no spiciness, but it also is a nice way to enjoy taco flavors over dinner in an easy, quick casserole form.

Keyword cottage cheese, diced green chiles, diced tomatoes, garlic, ground beef, ground turkey, kid-friendly, Mexican-blend cheese, onion, rice, Rotel, Sazon seasoning, sour cream, taco seasoning, tomato sauce

Ingredients

3 cups cooked rice
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1/4 of a medium onion diced
4 to 6 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup taco seasoning
2 Sazon seasoning packets
10 ounces diced tomatoes with green chiles
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups Mexican blend cheese shredded

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an eight-by-eight- or nine-by-nine-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.
Cook your rice according to package directions. (It should be three cups after it’s done cooking; don’t start with three cups uncooked rice, or you’ll have way too much!)
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the ground beef and onions. Crumble the meat as it browns. When it’s done cooking, drain off as much grease as you can. Add in the garlic and saute for about one minute.
Add in the taco seasoning, one of the Sazon packets, salt and pepper, the diced tomatoes (do not drain them) and the tomato sauce.
Stir to combine, and let the mixture simmer.
When the rice is done cooking, add the sour cream, cottage cheese, the other Sazon packet and salt and pepper to the pot and stir to combine.
In the prepared baking dish, smooth out the rice mixture into an even layer. Top with the meat mixture, and then sprinkle the shredded cheese on the top.
Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cheese is browned to your liking.
Let the casserole sit for at least five minutes before serving. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

This was pretty darn good, but it definitely lacked the spice Joey and I prefer. I would say this dish, the way I made it this time, was extremely kid friendly. It would be easy, though, to add extra kick by using the hot kind of diced tomatoes with green chiles or use tomatoes with jalapenos, instead. It would be amazing to add a drained can of jalapenos to the rice mixture on the bottom, too.

I was really glad, in the end, that I added the Sazon packets. I think they added some good flavor to the overall dish—even if I almost had to blindfold my husband during dinner.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 20, 2022.

Tags casserole, cottage cheese, diced green chiles, diced tomatoes, freezer meal, garlic, ground beef, ground turkey, hot dish, kid-friendly, Mexican-blend cheese, onion, rice, Rotel, Sazon seasoning, sour cream, taco seasoning, tomato sauce

Main Dish

Spicy, wing-inspired casserole is ‘Buffalo’-key delicious

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date June 30, 2022

Buffalo chicken casserole combines alfredo sauce and pasta with Buffalo wing sauce and chicken to create a cheesy, spicy dish that comes together quickly for dinner.

I was gone for a few days last week, and while Joey and I were catching up on our respective adventures from when we were apart, I learned that he made homemade Buffalo wings. Without me.

Now, I’ll forgive him his betrayal, because in his defense, I am normally not a huge fan of eating meat off the bone. But chicken wings tend to be a bit of an exception.

I love the spiciness of Buffalo sauce along with some crispy celery or some cool ranch dipping sauce. Wings are just pretty darn great all the way around.

I kept thinking about how I missed out, when I remembered I had a recipe featuring Buffalo sauce that I’ve been meaning to try. I hoped it would be just the trick to finally kick my craving.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Back For Seconds.” You can find the original post at https://backforseconds.com/buffalo-chicken-alfredo-bake/2/. I changed up the amounts of several ingredients and used breaded chicken instead of rotisserie in my version.

Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Buffalo chicken casserole combines alfredo sauce and pasta with Buffalo wing sauce and chicken to create a cheesy, spicy dish that comes together quickly for dinner.

Course Main Course

Keyword Alfredo sauce, Buffalo sauce, chicken, easy dinner, mozzarella, penne pasta, quick dinner

Ingredients

16 ounces pasta cooked (I used penne)
1/3 cup buffalo sauce plus more for drizzling
2 cups cooked chicken diced (I used frozen chicken patties)
16 ounces alfredo sauce
12 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

While you boil your pasta, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a three-quart baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray and set it aside.
When draining your pasta, reserve about one-third cup of the cooking liquid.
In a bowl, combine the buffalo sauce and chicken and stir to coat evenly.
In another bowl, combine the alfredo sauce, pasta and about one-fourth of the cheese. Pour the reserved pasta water into the empty alfredo jar, put on the lid, and shake it to loosen any leftover sauce in the jar. Pour it into the bowl, as well. Add salt and pepper, if desired. Stir to mix it well.
Spread half of the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. Evenly spread the chicken over that, and then finish off with the other half of the pasta mixture.
Top with the remaining cheese.
Cover the baking dish with a lid or foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the covering and bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned.
Let the casserole sit for about five minutes, drizzle with a little Buffalo sauce, and serve.

I was really happy with how this turned out. It was a bit spicy with lots of good cheesy flavors mixed in. I also was happy with my decision to cut up chicken patties to use in this instead of deboning a rotisserie chicken. It took way less time, and I liked the added flavor of the breading in the casserole.

It’s not quite a complete substitute for Buffalo wings, but it definitely did a good job of featuring the main flavors.

Joey will probably still have to make it up to me by cooking some wings again sometime in the near future, but I think this will hold me over for now.

This piece first appeared in print on June 30, 2022.

Tags Alfredo sauce, Buffalo sauce, casserole, chicken, easy dinner, mozzarella, penne pasta, quick dinner

Main Dish

Make a ‘rigaton’ of food with this sausage pasta bake

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date March 3, 2022

Sausage and cheese rigatoni is a delicious baked pasta with deep Italian flavors from marinara, roasted red peppers and plenty of cheese.

We decided to have a few friends over for dinner this past week, and I decided it was finally time for me to try this amazing-looking recipe for a baked Italian dish.

Joey was gracious enough to help me out by manning the saute pan. He was busy cooking the sausage and onion and asked, “When do I add the garlic?”

I looked at the recipe and paused.

“Well…um…you don’t,” I said.

“The garlic? What do you mean?”

“I mean, there is no garlic in the recipe.”

He looked at me, appalled, and I laughed and pointed to the large jar of minced garlic I already pulled from the refrigerator.

“Yeah, there’s no garlic in the recipe, but we’re totally adding some in anyway,” I said.

“No garlic. That’s just dumb,” he said.

You have to give the people what they want.

In this case, we ended up with a hearty, cheesy and delicious baked pasta, and it made so much that not only was I not sure it was going to actually fit in my casserole dish, but it barely looked like we even made a dent after enjoying big helpings at dinner.

This recipe comes from the blog “Foodie Crush.” You can find the original post at https://www.foodiecrush.com/baked-sausage-rigatoni/. I added garlic and some other herbs and spices to my version.

Sausage and Cheese Rigatoni

Sausage and cheese rigatoni is a delicious baked pasta with deep Italian flavors from marinara, roasted red peppers and plenty of cheese.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword basil, fennel seeds, garlic, Italian parsley, marinara, oregano, paprika, parmesan cheese, provolone, ricotta cheese, rigatoni pasta, roasted red peppers, sweet Italian sausage, yellow onion

Ingredients

1 pound sweet Italian sausage ground or removed from casings
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 small yellow onion diced
6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
12 ounces roasted red bell peppers drained and diced
25 ounces marinara sauce
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon paprika
16 ounces rigatoni pasta
15 ounces ricotta cheese
8 ounces grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley chopped
6 to 8 slices provolone cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and prepare a three-quart baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray, and set it aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, fennel and onion and saute until the sausage is cooked through and the onions are soft. Add in the garlic and saute for another two minutes or so.
Dump in the diced red peppers, marinara sauce, oregano, basil and paprika to the pan and stir to combine.
While the sauce is warming through, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the rigatoni for just five minutes. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce, stirring to coat it.
In another bowl, combine the ricotta, parmesan and parsley. (At first, you’ll wonder how it’s going to come together with all that parmesan, but just keep stirring. It will.)
Pour half of the pasta/sauce mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top it with half of the ricotta, and then place a single layer of three to four slices of provolone on top.
Finish it off with the rest of the sauce, the rest of the ricotta, and another layer of provolone.
Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes or until the top is brown and bubbly. Let the bake sit for five minutes before serving with some garlic bread.

Holy moly, you guys, this was delicious. It had great flavor, made a ton of food, and it was almost even better as leftovers the next day. It was also really easy to put together, which was nice for feeding a group. It also reminded me how underrated fennel seeds are as an ingredient. I can’t remember the last time I used fennel in a dish; I’ll have to make sure to do it more often.

I’m still not sure why it didn’t make the cut in the original recipe, but garlic was an excellent addition to the final product. And that was a good thing, considering I’m pretty sure I would have had to tackle Joey to keep him from adding it to the pan.

This piece first appeared in print on March 3, 2022.

Tags basil, casserole, fennel seeds, garlic, Italian, Italian parsley, marinara, oregano, parmesan, pasta bake, provolone, ricotta, rigatoni, roasted red peppers, yellow onion

Main Dish Uncategorized

Save lots of time this week with some phony pierogi

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date February 24, 2022

Pierogi casserole takes the flavors of the traditional dish, kicks them up a notch with some added flavor, and creates the perfect weeknight meal.

Awhile back, I stumbled on a Facebook group called “Good Ol’ Mennonite Recipes,” and of course, I had to join to see what kinds of great food people were sharing on there.

I have jealously looked at delicious loaves of bread and mounds of verenike under ham gravy, but I recently stumbled on a post that I absolutely had to try for myself: a pierogi casserole.

I have only made pierogi once. I had to look back at my column archive to see how long it had been, and it was clear back in 2015. I loved them, but they were also lots of work.

If you’re not familiar, pierogi are dumplings that are generally filled with mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese. They’re boiled and then fried in butter and onions to finish them off, and a lot of people love eating them with a side of sausage.

The casserole mimics the dumplings by using lasagna noodles, cheese, potatoes and plenty of onions, but as I started putting it together, I felt like it was missing something. That “something” turned into lots of garlic and some sausage, too, and this ended up being perfect.

The original recipe comes from the “Good Ol’ Mennonite Recipes” Facebook group. It was posted by Marie Leigh. I added garlic, sausage and more seasoning to my version.

Pierogi Casserole

Pierogi casserole takes the flavors of the traditional dish, kicks them up a notch with some added flavor, and creates the perfect weeknight meal.

Course Main Course

Keyword casserole, cottage cheese, garlic, ground sausage, mashed potatoes, noodles, onion powder, pierogi, sharp cheddar cheese, yellow onion

Ingredients

9 to 15 lasagna noodles
1 small onion diced (I used yellow)
1 pound ground sausage
2 cups regular cottage cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon onion powder divided
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
2 cups mashed potatoes
8 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a deep 9-by-13-inch baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray. Set it aside.
Boil enough lasagna noodles to be able to cover three layers in your pan. (My local store had long, thin lasagna noodles, so I only needed about nine of them to do the trick.)
Heat a skillet over medium heat and saute the sausage and onions, breaking apart the sausage as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
While the sausage cooks, add your cottage cheese, egg and 1/2 teaspoon onion powder to a bowl and mix thoroughly.
In another bowl, add the mashed potatoes, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, garlic, salt and pepper, along with 1 cup shredded cheese and mix well to combine.
Once your sausage is cooked through, drain off any excess fat.
To assemble the casserole, start by spooning just a little (maybe a scant 1/4 cup) of your sausage/onion mixture into the bottom of your dish. Place a single layer of noodles on top. Spread about half of your cottage cheese mixture over the noodles, about half of the sausage, and then top with about one third of your mashed potatoes.
Add another layer of noodles, spread out the rest of the cottage cheese, the rest of sausage, and another third of mashed potatoes.
Finish with a final layer of noodles and the rest of the mashed potatoes on top.
Sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheddar on the top, cover the dish with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another five minutes or until the cheese is melty and slightly browned.
Let the casserole cool for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

This was a great, filling dinner, and the leftovers were a breeze to reheat, too. I’m sure the original recipe would have been great, but adding the sausage and lots of garlic made it feel like more of a meal with a bit more complexity to the flavor profile.

Plus, it was so, so much easier than making pierogi, which while worth the effort, is definitely difficult to find time to do.

And now I have a new “good ol’” recipe to add to my repertoire, thanks to some neat folks on Facebook. Social media can be a horrible place, but when you’re talking food, sometimes it can be just the opposite.

This piece first appeared in print on Feb. 24, 2022.

Tags casserole, cottage cheese, garlic, ground sausage, lasagna noodles, mashed potatoes, onion powder, pierogi, shredded cheddar cheese, yellow onion

Main Dish

This Greek pasta dish ‘itsio’ good, you have to try it

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date September 9, 2021

Pastitsio is a pasta dish that incorporates two different kinds of meat in a tomato sauce with warm spices and a delicious bechamel sauce on top.

It’s not often I can stump Joey with a recipe.

He’s the king of the spice cabinet and my go to when I know a recipe needs “something,” but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

So when I managed to completely confuse him this week, I was a little proud of myself. Well, I was actually proud of TV chef Ina Garten, but who’s counting?

The dish I put in front of my husband? A delicious, tomato-y pasta. The secret ingredient? Cinnamon.

Now, I know that sounds insane, but trust me when I say it gave this dish a deep, fall-like flavor profile that made it tough not to want seconds, and it is definitely worth a try, although I will warn you this is not a quick recipe. Be ready to have a couple hours to blow on creating this amazing dish.

While this week’s recipe is Garten’s creation, I found it on the blog “Vodka and Biscuits.” You can find the original post at http://www.vodkaandbiscuits.com/2016/10/07/ina-gartens-pastitsio/. I added extra garlic, oregano and thyme and used pork in my version.

Pastitsio

Pastitsio is a pasta dish that incorporates two different kinds of meat in a tomato sauce with warm spices and a delicious bechamel sauce on top.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek

Keyword cinnamon, dry red wine, garlic, ground beef, ground pork, oregano, parmesan, thyme, tomatoes, yellow onion

Ingredients

Meat Sauce Ingredients

1 large yellow onion diced
1 pound ground beef
1 pound pork
1/2 cup dry red wine I used pinot noir
6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons thyme
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
28- ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper

Bechamel Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk I used skim
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan divided
5.3- ounce container plain fat-free Greek yogurt
3/4 pound tubular pasta I used penne

Instructions

In a large pot or deep skillet, cook the onion, ground beef and pork (crumbling the meat as you go) until the meat is cooked through and the onions are soft. Drain any excess fat from the pan.
Stir in the wine and saute until it is absorbed into the mixture. Add the garlic, cinnamon, oregano, thyme and cayenne and saute another two minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices, along with the salt and pepper. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring regularly and squishing the tomatoes so that they break down into a sauce.
After the sauce has been simmering around 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
For the bechamel, start by melting the butter over medium heat in a sauce pan. Once it is melted, stir in the flour and cook for about two minutes. Whisk in the milk and continue stirring constantly, raising the heat to bring the mixture to a low simmer (just below boiling).
Continue stirring until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the nutmeg, salt, pepper and 3/4 cup of the grated parmesan. Once the cheese melts, remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the Greek yogurt.
While your bechamel comes together, boil your pasta according to package directions to al dente. After draining, mix it into the tomato sauce.
Now it’s time for assembly. In a deep nine-by-13-inch pan, spread the tomato/pasta mixture evenly. Drizzle the bechamel over the top, and then finish off with the rest of the grated parmesan. Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is browned and the mixture is bubbly.
Serve with some crusty bread.

This does take quite awhile to come together, but it makes plenty for a big family meal, and it got rave reviews at our table. It also reheated great for leftovers.

It may have a few surprising ingredients, but it was still a home run for dinner at our house.

Plus, if you have a spices expert, it might be fun to play your own version of “stump the chump.” Even if they lose, they’ll still win with a great meal.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 9, 2021.

Tags casserole, cinnamon, dry red wine, garlic, Greek, ground beef, ground pork, oregano, parmesan, pasta, thyme, tomatoes, yellow onion

Main Dish

Casserole should tread care’philly’ with its cheesesteak claims

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date September 2, 2021

This casserole is a quick weeknight meal with lots of cheesy flavor, complimented by bell peppers and mushrooms.

There are tons of great copycat recipes out there.

I was blown away several years ago to learn that you can make a pretty convincing Butterfinger candy bar with candy corn and a few other ingredients. I also once tried a great recipe claiming to mirror Starbucks’s lemon bread.

So when I tried a casserole this week that promised to mimic the flavors of a Philly cheesesteak, I was intrigued. I have only gotten the opportunity to visit Philadelphia once, and if you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend getting one of their famous sandwiches.

Unfortunately, this week’s recipe was not a great substitute. Fortunately, though, it was just a solid, tasty casserole. So I decided to rename it and present it to you. It has great flavor, and it comes together quickly, which is something a lot of us need in our lives now that school activities are starting up again.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog, “Bowl me Over.” You can find the original post at https://bowl-me-over.com/philly-cheesesteak-baked-tortellini-recipe/. I added mushrooms, extra roast beef and seasonings to my version.

Bell Pepper Baked Tortellini Casserole

This casserole is a quick weeknight meal with lots of cheesy flavor, complimented by bell peppers and mushrooms.

Course Main Course

Keyword Alfredo sauce, bell pepper, casserole, cheese tortellini, cream cheese, garlic powder, mushrooms, onion powder, provolone, roast beef

Ingredients

19 ounces cheese tortellini
1 teaspoon olive oil
15 ounces frozen bell pepper strips or use fresh
8 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms (I used baby bellas)
15 ounces Alfredo sauce
2 ounces cream cheese I used fat free
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 pound deli roast beef sliced and cut into bite-sized pieces
8 slices provolone cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and prepare a 9-by-13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.
Cook the tortellini according to package directions, then drain and set aside.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pepper strips and mushrooms and saute until the peppers are lightly browned and soft.
Add the Alfredo sauce, cream cheese, seasonings and roast beef and stir.
Once the cream cheese is melted and everything is well combined, fold in the tortellini.
Dump the entire mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the slices of provolone, overlapping them as needed.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

This casserole was filling and cheesy and hit the spot for dinner. Plus, it reheated really well for lunches later in the week.

It certainly wasn’t a good facsimile for an actual Philly cheesesteak, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. I guess I’ll just have to wait for another East Coast trip to taste the real thing, but until then, at least I have a quick dinner recipe to add to my list.

This piece first appeared in print on Sept. 2, 2021.

Tags Alfredo sauce, bell pepper, casserole, cheese tortellini, cream cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, provolone, quick dinner, roast beef

Main Dish

A gift of casserole is not easy to ‘spaghett’

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date February 18, 2021

Baked spaghetti is an easy-to-assemble casserole that can be baked right away or frozen for a future meal.

Whenever a friend or family member is under the weather or hurt or grieving, one of my first inclinations is to try to feed them.

An article from 2016 by Adam McDaniel lays out the reasons human beings love to share food—part of it being sharing culture and part of being sociology.

“Food has a knack for bringing people together, forging bonds and creating conversation,” he wrote.

Sharing food is a way for us to help understand one another, and in the case of a sick or injured friend, I would argue that it’s one of the few ways I feel like I can nurture someone—since I’ve decided to forgo getting a medical degree.

That desire to care for someone is the reason this week’s recipe is absolutely perfect. It’s not only an easy weeknight dinner that is a true crowd pleaser, but it’s easy to toss in the freezer to enjoy later—making it a great gift when someone might need an extra meal at their house.

This comes from the blog “The Cozy Cook.” You can find the original post at https://thecozycook.com/baked-spaghetti/. I changed up some of the amounts of ingredients and the herbs and spices in my version.

Baked Spaghetti

Baked spaghetti is an easy-to-assemble casserole that can be baked right away or frozen for a future meal.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword basil, bell pepper, casserole, cream cheese, freezer meal, garlic, green onion, ground beef, ground sausage, marinara sauce, mozzarella, oregano, parmesan, parsley, ricotta, spaghetti

Ingredients

16 ounces spaghetti
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground sausage
1 medium yellow onion diced
1 medium green bell pepper diced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
32 ounces marinara sauce
8 ounces ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
4 cups mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (If you’re baking this right away. It can also be prepared for the fridge or freezer.). Prepare a 9-by-13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray, and set it aside.
Cook pasta according to package instructions.
In a large skillet, brown the hamburger and sausage over medium heat until cooked through, crumbling as you cook. Drain any excess fat.
Add in the onion, pepper, basil, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper, and saute until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the garlic and saute for about one more minute.
Add the marinara sauce, ricotta, parmesan and cream cheese. Reduce the heat to low, and stir constantly until the cheese is melted and all of the ingredients are well-combined.
Add the cooked, drained pasta and stir to coat all of the pasta with the sauce.
Add half of the pasta to the prepared dish, and top it with half of the mozzarella. Add the other half of the pasta, and finish with the rest of the mozzarella.
If refrigerating or freezing, cover the dish with a double layer of aluminum foil. If not, bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and just starting to brown around the edges. Let the casserole sit for about five minutes before digging in.
If you’re baking it later, let it thaw in the refrigerator, and then bake for 25 to 30 minutes covered and then uncovered for an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown around the edges.

This was cheesy and warm and very simple—everything I look for in a quick weeknight meal. In my case, I made a double batch, baking one for Joey and I that night and assembling another to deliver to someone I thought could use a night off from cooking.

If you decide to follow suit, I highly recommend using a large stock pot to cook in. I ended up having some trouble with fitting all the ingredients in my large skillet.

And even if you don’t have someone to deliver this to, you might make a double batch and freeze one for yourself for a future evening that you need a night off.

Sometimes a gift to yourself can be just as comforting.

This piece first appeared in print on Feb. 18, 2021.

Tags basil, casserole, cream cheese, freezer meal, garlic, green bell pepper, ground beef, ground sausage, marinara, mozzarella, onion, oregano, parmesan, parsley, ricotta, spaghetti

Main Dish

You’ll have ‘fillings’ for this pot pie casserole

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date August 13, 2020

Chicken pot pie casserole is a great, homestyle meal that comes together quickly and easily for a weeknight meal.

I have a ton of amazing memories about my paternal grandma, who passed away in 2012. She was such an awesome person and a crazy good cook.

Near the end of her life, she invited me over to her small apartment for dinner—just the two of us. She made a chicken and biscuits meal with some mixed veggies in it that was perfectly belly-filling and delicious. And, since she and I both had a serious ice cream addiction, we ended supper with a big bowl of it for dessert.

I don’t remember what all we chatted about while we sat at her small table, but I do remember the meal, which I suppose highlights the power of food in how we bond with one another.

That seemingly insignificant dinner popped into my memory this past week, when I stumbled on a recipe for a chicken and dumpling casserole. It reminded me so much of the meal she and I shared.

The recipe I used comes from the blog “Plain Chicken,” and while I generally like the base of this blog’s recipes, I often feel the need to add quite a bit to make them less, well, “plain.” You can find the original post at https://www.plainchicken.com/chicken-dumpling-casserole. I added herbs and veggies to my version, so I decided to dub it a “pot pie” casserole instead of just dumplings.

Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

Chicken pot pie casserole is a great, homestyle meal that comes together quickly and easily for a weeknight meal.

Course Main Course

Keyword canned biscuits, casserole, chicken, dumplings, easy, mixed vegetables, pot pie

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter melted
3 to 4 cups chicken cooked and shredded
12 ounces frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
10.75 ounces cream of chicken soup
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Pour the melted butter into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and then spread the shredded chicken and mixed vegetables over top of it.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and milk until it’s smooth, and pour the mixture as evenly as you can over top of the chicken. You don’t need to stir or spread it out.
In the same mixing bowl (why cause more dishes?), whisk the cream of chicken soup, broth and herbs and spices together until smooth and pour it evenly into the baking dish. Again, you don’t need to stir or spread it out.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until the biscuit dough is a golden brown on top.
Serve with mashed potatoes.

The mashed potatoes were a perfect touch to give this casserole a very homestyle taste. The night I made this, I actually only had a bag of frozen carrots in the freezer, so ours was missing all of the mixed veggies goodness, but we still really enjoyed it.

As a side note, I used a rotisserie chicken for my version, and then after Joey graciously shredded all the meat off of it for me, I boiled the carcass for about 20 minutes with the herbs listed above to make my broth instead of buying some. It worked really well, and I had some broth left over to put in the freezer for next time.

I can’t tell you what recipe Grandma used when she and I sat down to our casserole nearly a decade ago, but as the old cliché goes, I know the main ingredient was love, and that’s really all that matters.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 13, 2020.

Tags biscuits, casserole, chicken, dumplings, easy, mixed vegetables, pot pie

Main Dish

Here’s the ‘ravi-only’ quick dinner recipe you need

Post author By Lindsey Young
Post date May 9, 2019

An easy ravioli bake is a quick crowd pleaser for nights when you need to get dinner on the table without a lot of time.

There’s something about May that makes Joey and I busier than normal, it seems. I think it’s just the rushing around of all the end-of-school items that need to get into the newspaper, along with all the excitement of events coming up in the summer that keep us on our toes.

That, unfortunately, means May includes a lot more trips to eat out for dinner, as it’s normally not easy to cook a meal when you and your spouse are both getting home from work at almost 8 p.m.

But the other night ,I actually arrived home at a fairly decent hour, and I excitedly preheated my oven, knowing I had the perfect recipe to make on the fly that could be ready before Joey walked in the door.

The recipe I used is labeled as a “lazy lasagna” by the author, but I will say it’s more like a pasta bake than a lasagna, since it doesn’t really hold together like a lasagna does.

That’s not to say it isn’t awesome, though.

The recipe I got was from the website “InstruPix.” You can find it at https://www.instrupix.com/3-ingredient-ravioli-bake-lazy-lasagna/. The original recipe just calls for the ravioli, sauce and cheese. I added some spices to it, because I tend to think jarred sauce lacks some pizazz, but if you have a favorite one that is spiced the way you like it, skip my additions and just toss those three ingredients together.

Easy Ravioli Bake

An easy ravioli bake is a quick crowd pleaser for nights when you need to get dinner on the table without a lot of time.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword casserole, cheese, ravioli

Ingredients

25 ounce bag frozen ravioli any variety
24 ounces marinara or alfredo sauce
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
ground pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2-3 cups shredded mozzarella

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a 9-by-13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray and set it aside.
Spread about a quarter of the jar of sauce onto the bottom of the dish.
Arrange ravioli in a single layer on top of the sauce.
Spread half of the remaining sauce over top of the ravioli and sprinkle the listed spices evenly over the sauce (I didn’t really measure. I just eyeballed it.) Sprinkle on half of the mozzarella.
Layer on the rest of the ravioli (I didn’t have quite enough to make a full second layer, so I just spaced them out a bit more than I did on the bottom), spread the rest of the sauce on top, and sprinkle on the rest of the cheese.
Cover the dish in aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Let the dish cool for about 10 minutes and serve.

Joey was pleasantly surprised to come home to a meal that didn’t come in a styrofoam box, and I was super happy to actually use my kitchen for the first time in about a week.

This also reheated really well as leftovers for lunches later on in the week, which was a nice bonus that we appreciated.

For a family meal, pairing this with some garlic bread and big salad or some veggies would be perfect.

I’m sure Joey and I have several more restaurant meals in our future over the next couple of weeks, but I’m glad I have a quick recipe to use if I have a spare 45 minutes to spend in the kitchen.

And with being able to choose from a wide variety of ravioli fillings and sauces at my local grocery store, I don’t think we’ll get tired of this one any time soon.

This piece first appeared in print on May 9, 2019.

Tags casserole, cheese, Italian, ravioli